You With the Red Curls, You with the Watercolor Eyes

Chapter 10~Della

The rest of the day is about the same as the first half. Theo didn't seem mad that we saw him with the Hufflepuff. The rest of the group just thinks it's stupid and hilarious.

Care of Magical Creatures is a bit more interesting, since the gang has it with us. Hagrid, the gameskeeper, teaches the class. I think he's a bit stupid, but he's not cruel, like some of the other professors. He's gotten a bunch if these nasty scorpion-crab things in crates and we're supposed to feed them, but none of us can find their mouths.

We poke and prod the things with bits of frog liver and newt feet, but they don't react much. The boys all follow me around. Except for Draco and Pansy, they seem attached to me at the hip.

Defense Against the Dark Arts is something at least. That new professor that was announced last night teaches it now. Apparently Hogwarts hasn't been able to hold onto a DADA teacher for more than a year for decades. Rumor has it there's some kind of hex on the position. I'd like to believe the myth. Stories make everything more interesting.

I'm pretty sure Professor Moody isn't quite right in the head. He stalks into the classroom and announces loudly that we are severely behind. Apparently everyone here at Hogwarts is terrible at multi-tasking. No one here is any good at defending against curses.

He tells us that we are supposed to only be learning counter curses because the Ministry of Magic has a rather low opinion of us. But he will be showing and demonstrating far more dangerous curses for us. Including the unforgivable curses, Imperius, Cruciatus, and the killing curse. We aren't supposed to say the name of that spell.

He demonstrates each of them on spiders. It is disgusting and immoral, but am I am not phased. I have seen all three before.

He tells us that we must learn to fight off the Imperius Curse. That'll be fun.

We take notes for the rest of the period, and try not to think too much about what we just saw, with the spiders.

When class is over we walk quickly to the dungeons for potions. Neither me or Mattheo has any need or want to talk about DADA. I am positive he has seen the curses before too.

When we get to the Potions room, the air is thick with vapor and steam from the many cauldrons around the room.

Mattheo and I find a desk toward the back and sit tentatively to wait for Snape to arrive. I've met him many times before, at the manor. But those are other stories.

"Can anyone tell me what we have here, today?" Asks Snape, striding into the room the second the bell rings.

"An assortment of potions, sir," says Hermione Granger. The biggest Know-It-All in our grade.

"What kind, Miss Granger? Specificity it important," he hisses.

"Some of the most powerful potions in the world. Sir, if I may ask-" she corrects herself. Then Snape cuts across her.

"You may not. Now, can anyone tell me what this potion is?" He asks, hovering over a cauldron full of clear liquid, giving off no vapor or smell.

I raise my hand. 

"Yes, Miss Malfoy?" He says.

"It's Veritaserum, sir. The truth potion," I say.

"Correct. Ten points to Slytherin," he says curtly. "It is a very powerful truth potion. One or two drops is enough to have you spilling your darkest secrets to the whole world." 

I shudder. I have too many secrets.

"What about this one?" Snape asks, pointing to a potion with a pearly shine and vapor rising is comical spirals.

"Amortentia, sir. The most powerful love potion in the world," says Granger. Godric, she is annoying.

"Yes. What else can you tell me about it?" Asks Snape.

"Well, it's supposed to smell differently to everyone, based on things they find attractive. For example, I smell spearmint toothpaste, and grass and..." She trails off.

"Mmm, yes. I want all of you to write a short essay about what you smell and what ingredients of the potion give it the properties to create such smells for each person," Snape says, writing the instructions on the board.

We all pull out parchment and set to work. Each person goes up in turns to sniff the potion and record what they smell.

My turn is almost last. When I walk up to the potion, I am instantly hit with the potent smell of cigarettes and alcohol and cold air and blood. I can also smell dirt, and lake water, and strong acidic cologne. It is the weirdest combination of smells, but it somehow reminds me of someone. It smells so good, I have to force myself to walk away from the potion. 

Mattheo gets up after I sit back down to go smell it himself. I start writing my essay, listing each scent out carefully. When Mattheo sits back down he has a worried look on his face.

I look over his shoulder and catch a glimpse of his neat handwriting. I'm curious what he smells.

On the paper is a short list of smells. Vanilla, laundry detergent, sage, rain, old books, canned fruit and lavender.

I swallow hard. Vanilla and laundry detergent. I'm not self aware enough to really think about what I smell like, but those are what people tell me I smell like.

The bell rings and we turn in the essays. Mattheo and I walk quietly. We've still got an hour till dinner, so I say, "Want to head up to the library and finish the Transfiguration homework? I hate letting it pile up."

"Yeah, that sounds great," he smiles.

When we get to the library it is filled with hushed whispers and the swooshy sound of rustling book pages. The voices in my mind are far louder in here than the ones outside of it.

We find an unoccupied isle of shelves and sit at the desk in front of the books. I coach Mattheo through the Transfiguration research, and he helps me finish my star chart for Divination.

It is calm here, between shelves of books with Mattheo sitting next to me. For the first time in a long time, I feel safe.

Author's Note ~ I can't believe I've made it to ten chapters! A big round of applause for anyone reading!! I love you so so so much!!! 

(I know that they aren't supposed to learn about Amortentia until sixth year, but I couldn't help myself!)

Love you all to bits!!💗

~PokaPotFox13